


Winter Visitor

by RustedWireWitch



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
Genre: Diners, Gen, Mystery, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-26
Updated: 2018-11-26
Packaged: 2019-08-30 02:04:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16755769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RustedWireWitch/pseuds/RustedWireWitch
Summary: For the "Yu-Gi-Oh! It's time to G-G-G-Gift!" mini exchange!On a cold night in December, a strange young man ducks into a diner...





	1. The Boy in the Diner

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SheepyPeanut](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SheepyPeanut/gifts).



A brief chill accompanied the sound of the door swinging open, the December night wind rolling into the diner along with the new arrival. With a click of the door moving back into place, the bitter chill died away and Reika looked up from the counter to see a young man patting a light dusting of snow from his shoulders. She caught his eye and he gave something of a sly smile. Warming against the cold atmosphere, but with a slight undercurrent of mischief.

  
"Can I just grab a seat anywhere?" He asked, motioning to the rows of empty booths lining the diner wall. She nodded and the young man made his way right to the back of the room, unbuttoning his thick coat as he went. He slid into a booth and set to work removing his gloves and blowing warmth onto his reddened fingers.

  
She left him to his own devices for a little while, giving him the chance to thaw out and leaf through the sparse menu provided. Once the song ticked over to the next incessantly cheerful track on the manager's mandated Christmas playlist, she gathered up her notebook and pen and went to take his order. She was glad of the opportunity to actually do something on this shift. As the nights had gotten colder, the regular (mostly elderly) customers began to stay home, leading to long quiet stretches with nothing of note taking place. The manager didn't like any of his staff messing around on their phones during work hours, so there was really very little to do besides standing around and waiting for someone to walk in.

  
As she approached, she could swear she had heard him muttering something under his breath as he stared intently at the menu. She ignored it. The customers that usually came in at this hour that didn't occasionally talk to themselves were definitely in the minority. He jumped a little as she greeted him, giving her that same smile not long after as his composure returned.

  
"What can I get you?" She asked, watching in amusement as he started furiously scanning the menu as if seeing it for the first time. "I can give you a little more time if you-"

  
"No, it's ok! I'm just really bad at making decisions sometimes. Let me see. I'll have a large fried egg burger with extra ketchup and-" he paused. "No, ok, make that that a regular fried egg burger with extra ketchup. And a triple chocolate milksh-" he paused again. "A regular chocolate milkshake."

  
She smiled as she took his order down. He looked far too young to be worrying about calories but she wasn't going to push him on it.

  
"Coming right up," she told him. "By the way, are your hands ok?"

  
He looked a little confused, bringing his hands up where she could see the red wind-chafed skin under the harsh light of the booth lamp.

  
"You should think about getting some new gloves," she said, "those don't seem to be helping much on a night like this."

  
He scratched the back of his head and gave a little chuckle.

  
"Yeah, at least I remembered them today. Most cold nights I forget about gloves until I can't feel my hands anymore."

 

"Well, you just focus on getting yourself warm. I'll be back with your order."

  
He grinned and thanked her, absent mindedly rubbing the knuckles of his left hand.

 

~

 

When Reika returned, tray in hand, she squinted over at the booth the young man had been sitting at. At first she thought he had pulled a disappearing act on her, but as she approached she could see his coat draped over the back of the seat. Perhaps he was visiting the bathroom.

  
She set the tray down on the table and nearly let out a yelp as the youth bolted upright from his position laying down on the opposite side of the booth. The milkshake glass jostled in place for a moment but quickly settled down without spilling anything. Reika's heart gradually began to slow down from the frantic pace that the shock had given her and she arched her eyebrow at the young man.

  
"Sorry," he said, clearly caught a little off-guard himself.

  
"Are you... Ok down there?"

  
"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. I was making myself comfortable and I guess I must have fallen asleep."

  
She could feel a slight ache in her forehead as her eyebrow threatened to reach it's critical height.

  
"You've got some comfy booths here," he added with a laugh. "Just what the doctor ordered."

  
"I'm, um, glad you like them." She motioned to the tray on the table. "I left you a second hot towel on there, just in case your hands haven't quite warmed up yet."

  
He looked down at the two individually wrapped towels on the tray, next to the plated meal with its haze of steam. He smiled and nodded, thanking her before getting to work on the late night meal before him. She turned away and started to head back towards her station as he pulled a phone from his pocket, burying himself into a conversation while he started to pick through the food.

 

~

 

The end of the shift was approaching and Reika was already bundling together the cleaning supplies for the finishing touches on the diner before she would have to close it. She wasn't looking forward to the walk home, the snow outside didn't look like it had subsided in the slightest all night. She turned to the booth at the end of the row to call out to her solitary customer, frowning when she didn't see his thick mop of brown hair poking out over the backs of the seats. Had he fallen asleep again?

  
She took the bottles and wipes, heading down the length of the diner and finding the booth seats bare. No coat, no bag, no sign of the young man besides a slight impression in the plush seating. On the table, the tray had been ravaged - Not a single crumb was left on the plate nor a single drop of milkshake left in the glass. He had clearly been a lot hungrier than he was letting on. A few notes and coins were piled in the centre of the tray but the young man was long gone.

  
She flinched as the door to the diner was pushed open with an overabundance of force, a gust wipping about her ankles. She turned to see a man in a dark suit, briefcase in hand and a sour expression across his already severe looking features.

  
"I'm sorry," she said quietly, "I'm just about to close up for the n-"

  
"Did a boy come through here?" The man demanded, not even looking at her as he glowered over the booths. "Late teens, brown hair, would have been acting strangely."

  
"I-"

 

Reika didn't even have a chance to answer as the suited stranger barged past her, shoving open the door to the bathroom area at the rear of the diner.

  
"Hey, I told you I'm closing up. You can't just barge in and-"

  
He reemerged, pressing his finger to his ear and completely ignoring her protests.

  
"Window's open, target escaped out the back." He listened, nodding gently. "Yes sir, pursuing on foot, requesting all available backup."

  
He marched out of the building and Reika watched him pass the windows on his way down the street, crunching through the snow with determined anger in his eyes.

  
As he disappeared from view, she looked from the booth to the bathroom door and back again, wondering just what the hell had happened that night.


	2. The Diner in the Night

Judai slowed his pace as he approached the main street, going from a mad dash to a jog before finally emerging from the alley at (what he hoped was) a casual stroll.

  
Step after step, becoming just another pedestrian.

  
An incessant ache in his fingers gave way to a biting pain and he quickly fished around in the pockets of his coat for his gloves. He had only just gotten them on when the lights of civilisation emerged from the darkness to his right. A diner, one of the only buildings on the surrounding street that was still open at this hour. He pressed his hand against the door and pushed his way in, allowing himself a moment to bask in the embrace of the overhead heater. He dusted the snow from his shoulders and caught the eye of the girl behind the counter.

  
He froze up for a second.

  
Everything felt like it was in place. No burns or bruises that he could feel and the coat was probably doing a lot to hide the scuff marks that his clothes were probably riddled with after tonight's activities. He put on his best masking smile, remembering the pull of every facial muscle and the right angle of his head to get the exact twinkle in his eye.

  
"Can I just grab a seat anywhere?" He asked, his voice being carried off into the sea of tinny Christmas pop music filling the room. The girl nodded and Judai made his way to the back of the diner, sliding into a booth that gave him the best vantage point to look down the street for anyone approaching. He slid out from his coat and draped it over the back of the seat, letting the warm circulated air wash over him.

  
"I think we should have travelled a little farther before stopping, Nya." The familiar voice of Professor Daitokuji at the back of his mind made Judai relax just a little more.

  
"And pass up the opportunity for a rematch? Not a chance." Judai chuckled, "besides, any longer up that street and we'd be getting away from the hotel. Don't want Pharaoh waiting too long, right?" The spirit's silence on the matter spoke volumes.

  
"He is right, Judai," Yubel's own voice bubbled up from somewhere in the left of Judai's brain. "Reinforcements will surely be on their way after what happened. We still don't know the extent of this organisations power. You only just barely made it out of that duel."

  
"You're making it sound like duelling a lot of challenging opponents would be a bad thing!" Judai grinned, folding his arms.

  
"We know how worried you are."

  
Yubel's comment caught him off-guard and he slumped in his seat a little.

  
"I'm not worried-"

  
"Judai."

  
He pouted, resting his head on the seatback. All three remained in silence for a while.

  
"What is this song?" Yubel asked, prompting Judai to open his eyes and pay attention to his surroundings once again. He listened to the tune of the new song, smiling as he recognised it.

  
"It's a Christmas song, it's in English."

  
"What is it about?"

  
"It's about Santa." Judai explained, glancing across the table and letting his eyes drift lazily over the menu. "He sees you when you're sleeping. He knows when you're awake. He knows if you've been bad or good so be good for goodness' sake. Oh, you better not shout. You better not cry-"

  
"I am concerned and I have several questions." Yubel interrupted.

  
Before he could ask what they were, the girl from the counter appeared with a notepad and pen.

  
"What can I get you?" She asked, prompting Judai to realise that he hadn't actually taken stock of what was on offer here. He picked up the menu and tried to make a snap decision. "I can give you a little more time if you-"

  
"No, it's ok! I'm just really bad at making decisions sometimes." He hoped he didn't sound too panicked. There were a number of things on the menu that definitely caught his eye, and more than a few of them made him realised that he couldn't remember the last time he had eaten a proper cooked meal. "Let me see. I'll have a large fried egg burger with extra ketchup and-"

  
"Judai, you don't have limitless funds, nya." Daitokuji reminded him.

  
"He's right," Yubel added, "and something like that couldn't be good for you."

  
"No, ok, make that that a regular fried egg burger with extra ketchup. And a triple chocolate milksh-"

  
"Judai."

 

He sighed inwardly. "A regular chocolate milkshake."

  
"Coming right up," the girl said. "By the way, are your hands ok?"

  
He wasn't quite sure what she meant. He brought his hands up to his eyes and saw just how much the cold outside had taken its toll on him. They were sore and violently red and just looking at them made the stinging, itching sensation of dead extremities start flashing into his brain.

  
Outside, in that alley, he hadn't even noticed the cold. All that had mattered was that he could draw the next card, keep his hand going, keep the duel going. Had to win. Had to beat that suit with the smug grin. Had to get the information he-

  
"You should think about getting some new gloves," she said, "those don't seem to be helping much on a night like this."

  
Judai came back to the present, shaking the momentary distraction from his mind. He put on the smile again.

  
"Yeah, at least I remembered them today. Most cold nights I forget about gloves until I can't feel my hands anymore."

  
"Well, you just focus on getting yourself warm. I'll be back with your order."

  
He watched her walk away, busying herself with cooking behind the counter. Cooking and taking orders, seemed rough. Judai supposed it was lucky for all involved that it was a quiet night for business.  
A faint blue light to his right took his attention and he watched a police car began to crawl up the snow-strewn street. Instinctively he threw himself down against the seat, laying down as flat as he could. It wouldn't be good to get caught, arrested now. Even though he hadn't technically done anything wrong, it would put too great a delay on his task. Every second wasted was a second for them to get away. And to take the truth with them.

  
He heard footsteps along the tiled floor. How had they gotten in so quietly? He hadn't even heard the door open. What was he going to say? Did he really need to say anything at all? If they had no idea he was involved in the duel earlier, they would have no reason to question him. Unless that hired goon he had defeated had some sort of connections. He could end up framed! Or worse.  
The footsteps got closer, clicking towards him. He prepared himself, wait until they got close enough and then make a break for it. He silently counted.

  
Three.

  
Two.

  
There was a small noise as a tray was placed down on the table beside him. He bolted upright. He clearly spooked the girl who straightened up and almost leapt backwards in shock. He opened and closed his mouth a number of times, trying to form a hasty excuse.

  
"Sorry," he eventually managed to say.

  
"Are you... Ok down there?"

  
"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. I was making myself comfortable and I guess I must have fallen asleep." He felt judgement on either side of his brain, and mentally cursed himself. He thought desperately for something to add to make it more believable. "You've got some comfy booths here, just what the doctor ordered." He added a laugh for good measure.

  
"I'm, um, glad you like them." She said.

  
Judai breathed a sigh of relief that he hoped wasn't too obvious.

  
"I left you a second hot towel on there, just in case your hands haven't quite warmed up yet."

  
He looked down at the tray, feeling a little emotional at the sight of the little sachets of heat available to him.

  
"Thank you," he said, before she turned away and headed off again. He pulled out his phone and made a show of pressing the screen a few times before pressing it against his ear.

  
"Who are you calling, Nya?"

  
"Not calling anyone." Judai said, "I think I'm getting too close to being conspicuous. This way we can talk without me looking like I'm just chatting to myself. Pretty clever right?" He took an enormous mouthful of burger and washed it down with milkshake, almost choking on it before delving right back into the meal.

  
"Yes. Very clever." Yubel said.

  
"But it doesn't serve us well in the face of that, Nya." Daitokuji added.

  
"In the face of what?" Judai asked, already hoovering up the last of the burger into his mouth. He looked to the window and saw a humanoid shape in the darkness, moving towards the diner. As it got closer to the light he could see the outline of that black suit, the briefcase in his hand filled with all manner of strange cards.

  
"We need to go, now." Yubel's tone was direct and pleading.

  
Judai slurped up the last of the milkshake and set about dropping off coins and notes from his wallet onto the tray. He hoped it was right, there was no time to check. He pulled himself up from the seat and started to head towards the exit.

  
No. That guy would see him immediately if he went out the front door. There had to be another way out.

  
He turned and saw the bathroom door. Keeping his fingers crossed he gathered up his things and slipped inside as quietly as he could.

  
He looked up to see the unlocked window and punched the air in victory. In a few seconds he had it open and was sliding his way out to freedom. He gave a quiet noise of distress as he pulled himself out into the darkness of the alley.

  
"What? What is it?" Yubel asked. "Did he see you?"

  
"No," Judai said, groaning. "I just... Eating that quickly might have been a mistake." He clutched his stomach lightly before draping his coat around his shoulders, hefting his bag up and making his way quickly into the night.


End file.
